Tank car



Feb. 17. 1925.

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- A. E. SMlTlH TANK CAR Filed Feb. 23, 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Fig.3

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have hitherto been provid 1 Patented Feb. 17,1925.

ABBA]! E. SM ITH, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

rm can- Application filed February 23,1921. Serial No. 447,179.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ABRAM'E. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York city, borough of Manhattan, in the 6 county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tank Cars, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to tank cars of that character or type adapted to transport material in bulk,- and particularly contemplatesa tank body adapted to contain those materials, such, for example, as hi h-viscosity hydrocarbons, which are flowe in liquid form into the tank but which may become congealed or increased in viscosity, due to temperature conditions, to such an extent as to prevent ready fiow thereof from the tank when it is desired to withdraw same there- 29 from. Tank cars for the ur ose stated with heating means whereb the congealed or solidified contents may e reduced in viscosity or in-- creased in fluidity so as to permit suehcontents to flow readily from'the tank. Such means'have usuall consisted of closed heating coils or mem ers arranged within the body of the tankand adapted to receive a supply or current of steam whereby the con- 80 tents of the tank may be heated. The known constructions just describedhave, to some extent, been unsatisfactory or undesirable, in that the heating coils or members when located within the tank body occupy 85 considerable space therein, thereby reducing the carrying capacity of the tank, and, further, because the point at which the car is located or discharged is often inconveniently situated as regards a supply of steam or other heating fluid as the heating medium. My present invention contemplates the provision of heating means which Will not be dependent upon a supply of steam or other heating fluid vfrom an extraneous source, but which will be cc constructed that the heating agent-may be, if desired, carried by the car itself, and, more specifically,

in providing heating means which will be located external tothe car bodyv and, therefore, not reduce the carrying capacity of the car to an; Objectionable extent.

The invention consists in the improvements to be 'more fully described hereinafter, and the novelty of which will be particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed. 1 I have fully and clearly illustrated. a pre-' ferred embodiment of my invention in the accompanying drawings, to be taken as a part of this specification, and wherein Figure 1 is a view in side elevation, partly in section, and with parts broken away, of one embodiment of my invention; Figure 2 is atop plan view, artly in section, of the structure shown in Fig. 1, and

- Figure 3is a transverse section ou the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

I "UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Referring to the drawings by characters of reference, 1 designates generally the understructure of a car, the same being shown for. the purposes of lllustration of this 111- ventlon as being of a well known commercial type. The understructure may Include a center sill made up of longitudinally extendin flan ed irders arran ed with their C b i g intermediate we s- 2 in lparallel vertical planes, respectively, on opposite sides of the longitudinal center of the car, the upper and lower flanges 3, 4 of said girders being directed outwardly, as clearly shown in Fig.

3 of the drawings. The girders 2 are connected rigidly by upper and lower horizontal plates 5, 6 secured to the flanges 3, 4, respectively, in any suitable manner, as by rivets 7 passing through the side ed portions of said plates and through said anges 3, 4. At the end portions of the center sills are suitably supported bolsters 8, of any-suitable commercial construction, adapted to rest on trucks (not shown) carrying running wheels 9 adapted to travel on the usual rails 9 of a railway track, and at intermediate. portions of the under-frame are outwardly extending transversemembers 10, also secured at their inner ends by suitable rivets 10 to the center sill. The bolsters 8 and members 10 support flanged side sills 11 of the understruct-ure, said side sills being secured at their lower flanges 11 by rivets 12 to the outer end portions of said members 8 and 10. The members 11, at their ends, are riveted to the endsills 13 of the understructure, whereby'the understructure includes a rectangular f1 ame. Su ported on the rectangular frame is a ta body, shown enorally at 14, and includin a bottom p ate ,15 lying in substantially a orizontal plane,

HIT:

but preferably dished or depressed at central longitudinal portion, and having its longitudinal side edges resting on the upper flanges 11 of the side sills 11, said bottom plate resting at its central portion on the center sill and being secured to the flanges 3 of the latter by the rivets 7, heretofore described.

Supported by the side sills 11 are the vertical side walls 16 of the tank body, the lower edges of which are secured to said side sills by angle-irons 17 inside of the tank body, the vertical members of which are riveted to the side walls, as .at 18, and the horizontal members of which, respectively,

rest upon the outer edges of the plate hottom 15, said members and plate being socured to the upper flanges 11 of the side sills by rivets 19. The upper portion of the tank body is closed by a top wall 20, the outer side edges of which are secured to the upper edges of the side walls 16 by means of angle-irons 21, the flanges of which are riveted, respectively, to the wall 20 and the side walls by rivets 22, 23. The ends of the tank are closed by end walls 25, riveted to the top, bottom and side walls, as at in the same manner as heretofore describedfor connecting said top and side walls, and side and bottom walls. The tank is provided with a suitable'dome 26, through which the tank is filled with the material to be transported, and the tank is also provided with suitable draw-ofl' duct or ducts (not shown) 1 by means of which the contents are withdrawn from the tank. It will be seen that by the construction just described, a tank body is provided which is substantially rectarilgular both transversely and longitudina .I will now describe improved means for heating the body of the tank in order to melt or render fluid any contents whichmay be congealed or so viscous as not to flow readily when it is desired to withdraw the same from the tank. This means, in its preferred embodiment, consists of a plurality of heatinrr chambers or furnace chambers arranged beneath the tank body, and having means for heatin the same so as to transmit the heat to the ottom wall of the tank and thereby melt the material carried by the latter. These furnace'chambers are s own generally at 27, each of the same being preferably rectangular in form, a plu rality of such chambers being provided, arranged side by side, lengthwise of the car, and on opposite sides of the center sill. Each of t e heatin chambers comprises a bottom wall 28, vertical side walls 29, arear wall located adjacent the center sill, and a front wall 31 extending parallel to the side sill 11 and adjacent thereto, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The verticalfront and side walls of the chambers are provided with laterally extending flanges 32, resting prefarably directly against the under-face bottom wall 15 of the tank and secured thereto by rivets 33. The rear Wall of each chamher is located adjacent the center sill and is secured thereto by angle-brackets 34 and the rivets 7 and 35, the arrangement being such that the tank bottom 15 constitutes the upper wall of the heating chamber, so as to be directly subjected to the heat in said chamber. Each chamber is individually heated, preferably by a liquid or gaseous fuel burner 36, preferably of the type provided for an admixture of the liquid or gaseous fuel with air supplied thereto under pressure, said burners being each connected by a fuel pipe connection 37 to a fuelsupply pipe 38, extending lengthwise of the car and connected to a suitable fuel-suppl tank 39 carried by the understructure, eaci of the connections 37 containing a manuallyoperable controlling valve 40, by means of which flow to each burner may be individually controlled. The burners are also connected, respectively, by air-supply pipes 41, each containing a hand-operable regulating valve 42, to a main supply pipe 43 leading from a tank 44 for containing compressed air,-and mounted upon the understruoture. The pipe 43 is connected by a branch 43 containing a hand-valve 43', said branch 43 leading into the tank 39, whereby air under pressure may be admitted to said tank 39 to act on the fuel therein to force the same under pressure to the burners. Each chamber is provided with a vertical, staggered baflles 45 extending from the bottom of the chamber to the tank bottom, and by means of which the flame from the burners is caused to take a circuitous path through the furnace chamber, the latter being supplied with apertures 46 for admitting air thereto. At its rear portion, preferably, each chamber is provided with an outlet 47 through the bottom 15 of the tank; the said outlets in the two innermost or adjacent chambers of each set to one side of the car understructure, and the corresponding set on the opposite side of the understructure, opening through the tank bottom into a transverse collector chamber 48 within the tank body, and having a base flange ,49 secured to the bottom wall 15 by rivets 50, and provided at its upper portion with an annular flange 51, to which is riveted, as at 52, the lower end of a vertical flue or stack 53 extending u Ward from said collector through the b0 y of the tank and secured to the upper wall of the latter by means of an annular angle-iron or pipeflange 54, the vertical and horizontal flanges of which are riveted, respectively, as at55 and 56, to the stack and to said-top wall, saidflue or stack discharging through an opening in said top wall, as clearly shown in Fig. 3. The said openings 47 in the end chambers on opposite sides of the center sill open into collectors 48, similar in construction to the collector 48, heretofore described,

and connected by fiues or ducts 53 to the.

flue or stack 53, heretofore described. From the above description, taken in connection with the drawin s, it will be seen that the flame, and heate air and gases in the furnace chambers, willcome into direct contact with the bottom of the tank and hereby subject the same to the desired temperature, and flowing in a circuitous path through said chambers, will pass from the latter through the collectors 48, 48 and stacks or fiues 53, 53 through the body of the material contained in the tank, so that not only is the material restingon the tank bottom subjected to the necessary temperature at that point, but said material is heated throughout its body by the heated products of combustion flowingthrough the flues or ble portion 53 may carry at its'upper end an external collar or pipe-flange 59, in the form of an angle-iron, and riveted thereto, which not only serves to stiffen the same, but is adapted to cooperate with the angleiron 58 and act as a stop thereagainst to limit inwardmovement of said extensible stack portion when lowered into the flue 53.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In atank car, a tank body, a supporting underframe therefor comprisin a center sill means for heatin said bo comprising furnace chambers eneath said body and located on opposite sides of said center sill, and fiues leading from said chambers and located in said tank body.

2. In a tank car, a tank body and means for heating the same, comprising furnace chambers neath said body, a collector chamber in said body, openings through the wall ofsaid bod and leadingfrom said furnace chambers into said collector chamber,

and a discharge conduit communicatingwith said collector chamber and extending through the tank body.

n a tank car, a tank body, an under-.

structure comprising sills supporting said tank body, means for heating said body comprising alplurality of chambers located beneath said body and riveted thereto, a gas- 53 may be provided eous fuel burner located in each of said chambers and outlets from said chambers assin through said body, said chambers eing ocated between the SlllS of said understructure.

4. In a tank car, a tank body and means for heating the same, comprising a plurality of chambers located beneath the same and riveted thereto,-a aseous fuel burner located in each of sai chambers, outlets from said chambers, and a discharge stack extending through said tank body and havin communication with said outlets from sai chambers.

5. In a tank car, a tank body and means for heating the same, comprising a plurality of chambers located beneath the same and riveted thereto, a aseous fuel burner located in each of sai chambers, outlets from said chambers, and a vertical discharge stack in said tank body and opening through the upper portion thereof and having communication with said outlets from said chambers.

6. In a tank car, a tank body and means for heating the same, comp-rising a plurality of chambers located beneath the same and riveted thereto, a gaseous fuel burner located in each of said chambers, outlets from said chambers, a dischargestack extending through said tank body, and conduits in the tank body and'conneeting said outlets with said'stack. I 7. In a tank car, a-tank body and means for heating the same, comprisin a plurality of furnace chambers located eneath the tank body on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis of the latter a gaseous fuel burner in each of said chambers and directed toward the center of the car, and supply pipes serving said burners and extending longitugirally of the car and beneath said tank 8. In a tank car, a tank body and means for heating the same, comprising a plurality of furnace chambers located beneath the tank body on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis of the latter, a gaseous fuel burner in each of said chambers and directed toward the center of the car, discharge flues for said chambers, extending through the tank body, and supply pipes ser'vin said burners extending longitudlnally of the carand beneath said tank body.

9. In a tank car, a tank body, center sills supporting the tank body, a plurality of heating chambers arrange on opposite sides the inner ends of said chambers through the tank bottom, a collector chamber in the tank body and communicating through said openings with said furnaces, and a stack 7 connected to said collector chamber and ex- 15 tending through the tank body.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name, in the presence of two sub scribing witnesses.

. ABRAM E. SMITH; Witnesses:

AGNES E. CUNNEEN,

C. G. HEGLMUN. 

